Lionheart
by ishouldberunning
Summary: "Courfeyrac had given him the lion as a gift for his birthday last year. Gavroche had eyed the brown and beige plush warily at first. Stuffed animals were for girls and babies." In which a stuffed animal and the elder Thénardier have some things in common. Modern AU


**A/N: Quick one-shot based off a dream I had last night. A longer work is in progress, but I have many things going on so editing is taking forever. **

**Mistakes are mine. **

**Contains a naughty word here and there.**

**Enjoy. **

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Courfeyrac had given him the lion as a gift for his birthday last year. Gavroche had eyed the brown and beige plush warily at first. Stuffed animals were for girls and babies. Although flustered at the boy's initial reaction, the student had recovered quickly, explaining that it was no ordinarily doll.

"Lions are the kings and queens of the animal world, Gavroche. They are fierce and strong. They don't let anyone push them around. Better yet, they're loyal and protect the ones they love. You're safe as long as he's around."

From that moment on, Gavroche took it everywhere. He carried it in his backpack at school and to karate practice afterwards. He used it as a pillow on nights when Éponine worked late and he didn't wish to return home without her. He even took it to the cafe, a gesture not unnoticed by Courfeyrac who smiled warmly at the pair whenever they entered. On one such evening, it went missing and the entirety of _Les Amis_ spent hours searching for it, only to find an inebriated Grantaire cuddling it on the couch in the back room. It took seven Oreos and an entire bag of Skittles before Gavroche forgave him.

It was the only thing in the world he could call his own.

That's why he clung to it so desperately on nights like this. Hidden beneath the bed he shared with his sister, he laid with hands clasped tightly over his ears, trying to drown out the angry voices from the other room. Things were always worse when his father had been drinking. The yelling started, as it usually did, when Éponine returned from a nightly meeting with _Les Amis_. Out of a brown paper bag, she produced a large pastry one of the students had given her. A treat like this came around once in a blue moon for the Thénardier children. Gavroche asked if she had one as well. She said she wasn't hungry, as she always did. His older sister was not yet eighteen but already a mother to her younger brother. Madame Thénardier was weak and easily succumbed to the will of their father, who was a liar and a thief and all that's bad.

Thénardier eyed the sweet greedily before knocking it out of his son's hands. He called Éponine a worthless sack of meat. If she was going to whore herself out to a bunch of "learned rich folk" she should at least ask for a sous or two. Éponine told him to fuck off. By now, she knew better than to talk back, but she just couldn't help herself. She hated the man.

Before she could react, Thénardier was on his feet shoving Éponine to the floor. That was Gavroche's signal to leave. His sister had commanded years ago that whenever their father got physical he was to go into their small bedroom and hide himself. She would take one thousand beatings, she insisted, before she let their father lay a hand on him.

For this reason, Gavroche passed many evenings in this exact position. Concealed in shadow with his back up against the wall, pretending those weren't his sister's screams echoing throughout their rundown apartment. Often, he would sing to pass the time. Grantaire had taught him a new song just the other night, but he couldn't remember all the words. He knew it said something about heaven and beer, but Éponine had gently smacked Grantaire over the head before he could repeat himself. He hummed _Hakuna Matata_ instead.

A shuffling of feet indicated the fight was making its way into his makeshift sanctuary. The sheet covering the rotten mattress overhead was short enough that it left a window through which Gavroche could peer out from his hiding place. He flinched violently when a brown mass crashed heavily to the ground. Éponine was always wearing that jacket, ever since Marius said it looked nice on her.

Thénardier kicked his daughter once more before exiting the room, slamming the door behind him.

Gavroche always waited a few minutes before extracting himself from his hiding place. Sometimes Thénardier returned for a second round, often with a leather belt in his grasp. Not tonight it seemed. Slowly, he crawled out from his little niche, lion still held tightly in his hand, and made his way over to his sister's crumpled form. Her body was shaking with silent sobs as she struggled to regain her composure. Bruises were already visible around her wrists where the sleeve of her jacket had ridden up and a small trail of blood dripped down from the cut on her brow.

Gavroche sat beside her as she cried, hand placed comfortingly on her back. He'd seen Enjolras do it once. Éponine was upset over Marius, he thinks. Marius had met a pretty blonde girl named Cossette and brought her to the cafe He said she was his girlfriend .Gavroche didn't really understand why this made his sister cry. Grown-ups were strange.

A few minutes passed before Éponine calmed enough to sit up, hastily wiping her tears on the sleeves of her coat. Blood as well.

"Alright Gav, let's get you to bed." With a sad smile, Éponine hooked her arms beneath those of her brother, hoisting him up with her as she stood. Gavroche didn't miss the grimace of pain that flickered across her face, though she tried desperately to hide it, nor was it hard for him to imagine the bruises forming on her abdomen. He'd seen them many times before when Éponine was changing and didn't notice he was in the room. She set him atop the bed, drawing a small blanket over him to ward of the night's chill. Taking a dirty towel, she cleaned the blood from her face. It wasn't very sanitary but would do until morning. Gavroche pictured what Joly's face would look like if he were to find out. After removing her jacket and shoes, she settled herself down beside her brother, placing a kiss on his forehead.

She was asleep almost instantly which was no surprise. Gavroche on the other hand remained wide awake, silently observing his older sister. She always looked so much younger when she was asleep, her face far more relaxed without the stresses of the day bearing down on her. He wondered briefly what she dreamed about. Marius probably. Gavroche dreamed about running away, about leaving this place. He dreamed of a grand mansion in the countryside and a tree house with a sign that read "No Girls Allowed." That excluded Éponine, of course. She was much different than any of the other girls he knew. She was strong and brave. He glanced down to the soft object held in his arms.

_They're loyal and protect the ones they love_.

Gently, he slid the lion underneath his sister's outstretched arm. She needed it more than he did. He was safe as long as he had Éponine beside him. His sister. His friend and guardian.

His fearsome lioness.

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**If you caught the Oliver! reference, you get a cyber high-five. **


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